A record high of 10,000 tons of tea worth $44.2 million were exported from Iran in the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2023), registering a 34.8% rise compared with the previous year, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
The exports had 26 countries as destinations.
Previously, the highest volume of exports was registered in the fiscal 2014-15 with 35,613 tons, IRIB News reported.
A total of 26,000 tons of tea were produced in the fiscal 2022-23, of which 38% were exported.
During the year under review, $665 million worth of tea were imported from 10 countries, registering a 45.9% rise compared with the year before.
About 100,000 tons of tea are consumed in Iran every year.
According to Habibollah Jahansaz, the head of Iran Tea Organization, 5 million tons of tea are produced globally every year and Iran ranks the world’s 12th biggest tea cultivator.
“Among the finest produced in the world, Iranian tea is cultivated pesticide-free, therefore, there are no pollutants or residue chemicals affecting its quality and taste.”
There are more than 28,000 hectares of tea plantations in Iran, 22,000 hectares of which bear yields, according to Iran Tea Organization.
More than 55,000 farmers earn their living through tea cultivation in Iran’s northern provinces and of Gilan and Mazandaran.
Some 90% of Iran’s tea plantations are located in Gilan Province.
The city of Lahijan is known as Iran’s tea production capital.
The crop undergoes three harvests a year: the spring harvest starts in late April, the second in summer begins early June and the last one is in autumn and starts late September.
